AUGUST 4, 1997:
Man, you gotta love the
Internet -- virtually free, instantaneous, worldwide delivery
from the privacy of your home/cubicle/library terminal. Not even
FedEx can beat that deal. With a successful delivery rate that
makes the U.S. Postal Service drool, the Internet is a
communications godsend.

But how does it work? An
explanation can get bogged down in techno-babble, so this will be
Internet for the real world. You have a computer that has a
modem. That modem calls another computer, which is configured as
a server. This bigger, better, faster server is connected to the
"backbone" of the Internet (really just a
super-high-speed connection over a high-quality phone line). The
server waves its magic wand and voila! You are now connected to
the Internet through the server.

This is where it gets a little surreal.
When you send an e-mail message or transfer a file via this
connection, it is miraculously broken apart into
"packets" and tagged with little identifiers. These
packets are sent scurrying along everyday phone lines, randomly
bouncing across the globe from server to server on the Internet,
searching for a path to the destination tagged in the
identifiers. Once all the packets reach the destination
(independent of each other), they reassemble, and are displayed
as an e-mail message or a file -- sort of like the transporters
on Star Trek.

Wow. Pretty incredible. All through
phone lines found in practically every house in America. But I
can pick up my neighbors' phone conversations every other day! Is
there a chance someone else could capture my e-mail message as it
bebops across the globe and read it?

Technically, but it would be pretty
difficult. The paths packets travel are totally random, utterly
dependent on chance and traffic. One minute, your e-mail could
see Singapore; 30 seconds later, another message might not leave
your hometown. Unless it is intercepted before it leaves your
Internet Service Provider's (ISP) server or as it reaches the
destination server, it's practically impossible to successfully
cull e-mail en route.

If you are really that worried
about the security of your personal mail, there are a few
precautions you can take. Software packages such as PGP (Pretty
Good Privacy) and Private Idaho can encode your messages,
rendering them incomprehensible until they are completely
reassembled at their destination. There are also sites set up
across the Internet that serve as anonymous e-mailers. They
essentially take your e-mail, strip any identifying
characteristics from it, and replace them with generic
information from their server. Your message gets where it's going
just fine, only no one knows whence it came.

That's good to know. So all those
e-mails I wrote to a co-worker at the office critiquing the boss'
taste in ties are fairly secure, right?

Not by a long shot! Correspondence
within a private network, or an intranet, is wide open.
Not only is a copy archived somewhere on a tape backup and on
your machine, but there are umpteen software packages that system
administrators can seamlessly install on a network that monitor
who is sending what to whom and when. Don't even think about
claiming invasion of privacy; those computers are the property of
the company, and the nasty notes were most likely written on
company time and are considered the company's intellectual
property anyway.

Man! There go the promotion and
Christmas bonus. At least, assure me that ordering something on
the Internet is safe.

Well, as safe as it is to order Box
Car Willie's Greatest Hits from an 800-number you see at 4
a.m. on public access. World Wide Web sites are now able to offer
secure transactions, primarily through the use of encryption
software. But according to Dave Barger, president of local ISP
LunaWeb, when given a choice between a secure and non-secure
transaction, most users opt for the non-secure form.

"More people are coming to realize
the security offered by the Internet is in many cases greater
than they find when they give their credit card to a waiter at a
restaurant," said Barger. "As a result, Internet
commerce is growing."

The innocuous encryption methods used in
secure transactions have helped generate over $1.5 trillion (yes,
you read that correctly) of commerce a year. They also are a
flashpoint of debate between the U.S. Internet community and its
government. Software developers are eager to export their
encryption packages to the hordes of international users who look
to the U.S. as a leader in this emerging field. Apparently, this
veneration is well-founded. The American-made products are so
reliable that the U.S. government is attempting to block export,
afraid drug cartels, terrorists, and other nefarious creatures
will use the software to cover their cyber tracks.

As the encryption debate rages,
storefronts and Internet malls are springing up hither and yon,
all begging to take your money, encrypted or not. Some even take
eCash.

eCash? Let me guess -- "e"
for electronic cash, right?

Yep, there is now an alternative to
traditional commerce on the Internet. Still in the trial stages,
eCash requires proprietary software that serves as a "bank
account." You go to a store that accepts eCash (denoted by a
colorful logo prominently displayed at the site), choose your
purchases, click a few buttons on your side of the virtual
counter, and the store receives your payment. The eCash transfer
is magically credited to the store's account in its version of
the software. When an eCash user is ready to cash in her chips,
it goes to a clearinghouse of sorts that converts eCash to real
currency. No fraudulent use of credit card numbers, no mailing
the check and waiting six to eight weeks for delivery.

The reliability, versatility, and global
scope of the Internet are quickly transforming it from a passing
techno marvel to an integral part of daily life. With technology
outpacing itself, an ever-increasing level of security features
within Internet software will relieve the few security concerns
left. Porting the technology to private intranets is giving a
whole new meaning to business connections. But watch what you
type at work -- are you sure your boss wants to know what you really
think of her? She might just pull your plug!